z. this morning on "early today," and they're off. lawmakers rush through some bills and bail on others ahead of the midterm election recess. big bang theory, the sci releases chilling video of what might have happened if the times square bomber had skooet succeeded. and not too hot, not too gold. scientists discover a goldilocks planet that they say may be able to support life.

hello and a good thursday morning to you. today we begin with congressional crowning. hoping to get a head start on their re-election campaigns, lawmaker necessary washington push through a slew of legislation from early adjournment yesterday. even the decision to adjourn was not without controversy. back on the home front, already angry constituents may be most frustrated with what congress didn't get done. tracie potts has more for us from washington. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. there was no decision on taxes, what to do about extending the bush tax cuts at the end of the year. democratic leaders had said they will not deal with that before the election. that's exactly what happened. but they barely got out of town without doing so in the house after a last-minute speech by republican leader john boehner that drew 39 democrats to his side. in the end, they agreed to

adjourn without dealing with taxes by just one vote. but there was a flurry of activity before the house adjourned. they did approve several bills, including a stopp spending measure so the government can continue to function for another two months. the fiscal year ends tomorrow. they also approved a nasa bill that deals with the future of that program, extends both the space shuttle and the space station programs and ends the bush era program that would have landed astronauts on the moon once again. finally, a 9/11 program was extended, as well, in fact, approved to provide health coverage for emergency workers who worked at ground zero. so a lot of work done. now they head home, veronica, to an angry electorate. >> tracie potts, thank you so much. meg whitman is facing a

political firestorm after allegations that she knowingly employed an illegal immigrant. during a news conference yesterday, it was said the candidate was alerted about her status in 2003 but didn't fire her until last year. whitman, who has specifically campaigned to holding those responsible claims she only found out about her housekeeper's status last year, at which point she immediately fired the maid. across europe yesterday, tens of thousands protested massive government financial cuts. demonstrations in poland, portugal, greece, ireland and elsewhere. in spain, parts of the transportation system were brought to a stand still. this all came as the european commission imposed new fines on euro zone countries that fail to improve their finances.

meanwhile yesterday, police in europe had to deal with concerns about what's being described as a moonlight style terror plot aimed at england, spain and germany. security was beefed up at various landmarks, including buckingham palace. police say the plot originated in pakistan. that country's border has seen a recent uptick in predator drone attacks. nbc news is told there is no connection between the strike and the european threats. now here is a look at other stories making news early today in america. in california, police are looking for a robbery suspected wanted in a violent purse snatching attempt. a man reached from behind and grabbed her purse. when she refused to let go, the suspect dragged her on the ground and punching her several times before running away. the victim suffered minor cuts and bruises. a missouri man is behind

bars after leading police on a high speed chase that at one point crossed over into kansas and back to missouri in a stolen vehicle. the suspect can all caused mayhem along the way, speeding through an intersection and colliding into two vehicles at 80 miles per hour. the suspect gave up when the vehicle's tires blew out. in ohio, a bizarre car accident resulted in a car going airborne, flipping several times and landing vertically on the front porch of a house. several tow trucks were required to remove the vehicle, but amazingly, the driver survived with nonlife threatening injuries. just off the coast of florida, scientists are getting up close and personal with the goliath grouper, a mystery fish which a decade ago were rarely ever seen. scientists hope to learn more about the speicesy which gather in this only known documented

spot to mate. now here is bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good thursday morning to you, bill. >> good morning, veronica. lots to cover today. we have tropical storm nicole down in the caribbean adding moisture to this. it's a tropical hose taking a ton of moisture and throwing it up the eastern seaboard this morning. that's where all the travel trouble is. florida is now clearing out. the carolinas will be next. we have eastern carolina getting nailed. virginia, delaware, pennsylvania, new jersey and soon up into areas of new england. take a closer look at the radar. you can see the moisture coming straight from the south. a little swirl here, maybe our area of low pressure crossing down from south carolina to north carolina, getting drenched from raleigh. wilmington has had an incredible amount of rain the last few days, maybe the highest total ever. the moderates, the steady rainfall now over the area and that's extending now just into the philadelphia region. new york city, the rain is still probably another hour or two away. and you notice that new york is

probably more scattered during the day today. i think new york city will get the heaviest rain later on tonight. here is the total we're thinking. anywhere in the yellow and oranges, 3 to 4 inches. along the coast, we could see 4 to 5, maybe 6 inches of rain. the rest of the united states looks fantastic. that's a look at your forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. sunshine in milwaukee, wisconsin. 67. really great weather out there. beautiful fall weather. leaves are changing around the great lakes. dallas, more like it, 86 and sunny. denver, likes today at 80. we'll take a look at friday's forecast. the weekend is coming up here shortly, veronica. >> and it should get better, right? today is going to be the worst of it for the east coast? >> today examine tomorrow, yes. oil climbs, scary foreclosure numbers and

mcdonald's benefits? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's been quite a run for tina fey, but it gets even better. you're watching "early today."

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. newly released footage of tests shows the potentially deadly power of a bomb found inside an suv last may. had it not failed, it would have killed dozens. shazad faces sentencing next week for the attempted bombings. at today's meeting, the south korea demanded the north apologize for a deadly warship

singing, but pyong yang refused to accept the findings that found them responsible. italian and croatian authorities are searching for a pair who have survival suits, life jackets and rafts in their balloons that went missing yesterday. astronomers say they have discovered the first planet beyond our scholar system that could have the right conditions to support life. the new planet, some 20 light years away from either is being referred to by scientists as a goldy locks planet since it's not too hot, not too cold, but just right for possible human habitation. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,835 after losing 22 points yesterday. the s&p dipped 2 points and the nasdaq fell 3. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei fell 190 points while

in tokyo the hang seng dropped 20. the dollar could get another dip yesterday thanks to speculation from the fed. investors are convinced the federal reserve will poor more money backed away from the greenback sending the dollar to an eight-month low against the basket of other currencies. the price of gold was pushed to yet another fresh high, above $1300 an owns. energy stocks got a boost after dwindling inventories fueled a rise on the price of crude. in washington, lawmakers passed a bill that would allow the u.s. to tax imports from china in response to keeping its currency artificially low against the dollar. today, the chinese call the legislation a breach against world trading policy. nearly one in every four homes sold in the second quarter was a foreclosed home. adding to the nation's

foreclosure mess, jp morgan chase announced yesterday it would freeze foreclosures over paperwork flaws. experts warn it's a problem that could exist industrywide. this morning's "wall street journal" reports mcdonald's could cut health care for 30,000 workers. mcdonald's claims it would be economically prohibitive. keep an eye on boeing today. shares were up in late trading after the planemaker landed an eight year, nearly $12 billion deal with the usair force. finally, how the mighty have fallen. two years after lehman brothers filed for the biggest bankruptcy in u.s. history, the sign that once hung outside the company's london offices sold for almost $67,000 at auction yesterday. that's nearly 14 times its estimated price. the braves chop at their magic number. a wild walk-off win in texas and big papi fails at small ball.

plus, the indians may be playing up a string, but that doesn't mean they aren't playing to win. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. much of the country is looking at a gorgeous forecast. not the case, though. tropical downpours up and down the east coast. your early morning headlines are coming up. you're watching "early today." (announcer) while there are some home disasters you can't avoid,

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the rays and yankees have clenched playoff spots, but the division race is still up for grabs. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. with every remaining game, it appears the a.l. east will come down to the final weekend of the season. in tampa, the rays gave away 20,000 tickets. the full house had little to cheer about. felix lined one into right. yankees and blue jays, they honored the manage fido tat at the end of the season. most of the guys took off their muss attaches when the game started, except for travis snyder. yanks remain half a game back in the east. now to atlanta, the magic

number to clench the wild card is now two after a 5-1 win. great catch in the indians/tigers game. back, back, maybe off balance. definitely a catch worth kroeg about. grab great by trevor. an unheard of ending between the mariners and rangers. nelson cruz struck out, but the ball got away from the catcher. cruz hustled down the line. the throw to first was in the dirt. he was safe. play at the plate, and the score was safe. rangers won it, 6-5. funny moment in chicago, david ortiz layed down a bunt. yes, a bunt. no surprise he was thrown out by a mile. everybody had a laugh. the bunt and gestured that david used a wheelchair to get to first. anything goes when you've got nothing to play for. white sox won it, 5-2.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. new york's buds take to the airways. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, taking some time out on the rail to take in the sights and sounds of the tennessee valley. you're watching "early today."

welcome back.

i just got done rendering out one of our new computer models showing how much rain is predicting to occur in the next 60 hours. the heaviest rain totals look to be just inland off the coast by about 50 to 60 miles. the potential is here for 4 to 6 inches of rain in the higher areas, but it looks like everyone has the chance to get 2 to 3 inches. mid-atlantic and new england is going on now, it will continue until this time tomorrow morning before it exits new england. tomorrow, we clear out new york and d.c. slowly in the morning. boston, dealing with a little bit of rain for the beginning of your friday. if you're watching us on wbal t11 in baltimore, maryland, come watch technologists, thinkers and personalities ignite baltimore sparking conversations across cultures and disciplines at the walters art museum. it's indoors thankfully, too. good day to be indoors, that's for sure. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in

entertainment. new york's latest bedbug victims may be the only guy in the city who can talk away the bugs. howard stern's manhattan office was infested. his sirius/xm radio had to be fumigated and the best were found in the limo. now he's trying to get over his paranoia saying he's scratching himself constantly. cnn's anderson cooper is close to a talk show that would be airing next fall. if the deal gets done, cooper would still continue hosting his show on cnn. finally, tina fey will become the third woman and the youngest person ever to win the kennedy center's annual mark twain prize for american humor. fey will be saluted at the ceremony by, among others,

former "saturday night live" cast members and her newest bff, betty white. >> rags to riches, she was just a writer on "saturday night live." is now now she's one of the biggest movie stars, too. >> she's so funny, though. you saw date night, right? >> not yet. >> put it on your list. this comes to us from knoxville, tennessee, where it is the perfect time for a nostalgic ride. the fall fast approaching, folks across the country are hopping on to catch a glimpse of nature on a steam engine train ride where the conductor entertains with music. it is a boost for the local economy. 15,000 people take the rise every year. and they keep come back to see the beautiful rivers and the beautiful mountains of the tennessee valley. i'm veronica de la cruz, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> a very good morning to you. heavy rain started overnight. we have already had four tornado warnings issued. a watch was issued for most of our area. a flood watch is in effect. the heaviest rain is around the central maryland area. we're talking in excess of 5 inches of rain. some locally heavier amounts are

possible as well. these are the remnants of tropical storm nicole. now looks like tonight and into tomorrow morning that the models have changed. rainfall amounts in excess of four inches. we could get five or 6 inches. heavy rain throughout today. i have more for you in the complete hour of news. >> thank you. here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> it is a day for the ducks, maybe even building and ark. a live report is max. >> they did not finish it all. what congress did accomplish before heading home. >> we are keeping a close eye on

your morning commute. seven accidents of note